Chances are it affects you or someone you know. November has been dedicated as a time to spread awareness about the disease, its risk factors and the effects it has on your body, your daily life and the lives of your loved ones.

The inability to focus sharply on objects positioned close to the eyes, known as “presbyopia,” is caused by age-related changes that compromise the ability of the eye lens to flex and change shape (called “accommodation”).

If smokers ever needed more reason to give up their unhealthy habits, they should take note of new research showing that cigarette smoking damages the eyes in a way that resembles the early stages of glaucoma.

There are a number of lens materials available to consumers that fit a variety of needs. While most provide wearers of eyeglasses all that they may be looking for, some require add-on coatings that make them even more perfect choices.

When corrective lenses are needed for a person to achieve clear vision, the condition should not be thought of as a disease. “Refraction” is the term that refers to the bending of light as it passes through one object to another.

While any sunglass lens that meets the standards set by the American National Standards Institute will protect the eyes from the sun’s harmful rays, polarized sunglass lenses also block the annoying glare produced by reflected sunlight

While eyeglasses have often been associated with educated, nerdy types, scientists have long believed that genetics (not education) was a more important factor in determining whether a person was nearsighted (myopic) or not.

Bifocals, multifocals, and progressive lenses are popular with individuals who want lenses that combine a distance prescription with magnification that enables them to overcome the limitations imposed by “presbyopia” (age-related inability to focus on reading material).

While blue light plays an important role in helping regulate our bodies’ internal biological clocks, some research suggests that this portion of the visible light spectrum may also harm the retina and lead to age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

There is little question that drugs such as atorvastatin, cerivastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin, mevastatin, pitavastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin, and simvastatin cut the risk of heart disease by lowering levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol in the blood.

While people with normal vision can differentiate between more than 100 different hues, 1 person in 100 has the severe form of color blindness known as “dichromacy,” which restricts the number of colors seen to two—yellow and blue.

The myopic (nearsighted) eye actually has too much focusing power. Either because the cornea is too curved, the eye is too long, or the eye lens focuses excessively, the incoming light is brought to focus in front of the retina.

Because those with the most common form of glaucoma (open-angle) usually do not begin to recognize symptoms of the eye disease until they have already begun to lose vision, their hopes of arresting vision loss largely rest with comprehensive eye exams.

If you are 65 years old or older, you should know that the most common cause of vision loss for Americans your age is “age-related macular degeneration” (AMD), of which there are two forms, wet and dry.

School athletes are required to schedule a physical exam at the start of the season to ensure that nothing stands in the way of achieving optimal performance. In addition to this exam, it makes sense to undergo a comprehensive eye exam as well.

The National Eye Institute reports that 15 million people in the United States have “age-related macular degeneration” (AMD), with more than 1.7 million having the more advanced form of the disease that causes progressive blindness.

If your prescription eyeglass lenses are made of plastic, they are vulnerable to scratching. To avoid the tiny scratches that accumulate over time to obscure vision, resist wiping glasses when they are dry.

Whether you want to create an especially spooky look for Halloween, produce your own special “emo” look, or create the Asian anime effect, you should know that there is a federal ban on the use of cosmetic contact lenses without prescriptions.

With 31 percent of people over the age of 18 saying that they spend an average of five hours daily on a computer, tablet, or cell phone, it is no wonder that eyestrain has become an even greater problem.

As we go through life, there are some things that we just take for granted. It therefore often comes as an eye-opening experience to “dry eye” sufferers that they are no longer producing enough tears (or tears of sufficient quality) to lubricate and nourish their eyes.

In the first place, it is very necessary to point out that glaucoma does not often come with symptoms that are readily noticeable to those with eye disease. It is therefore essential to undergo regular comprehensive eye exams.

Did you know that all humans had brown eyes up until between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago, when a genetic mutation occurred that reduced the production of brown pigment in the iris and blue eyes appeared?

If you wear soft contact lenses, you should know that recent research suggests that rubbing and rinsing your lenses before soaking them overnight is the best way to rid them of germs and avoid eye infections.

We all have good reasons to be aware of the potential threat that glaucoma poses to vision. Not only is this eye disease the leading cause of irreversible vision loss worldwide, but its most common form does not initially cause noticeable symptoms.

As the availability of disposable and overnight contacts has risen along with the ease of Internet ordering, researchers have noted a decided increase in the incidence of ulcers of the cornea (the clear outer layer of the eye)

Obesity is being rightfully blamed for increasing health risks ranging from diabetes to heart problems. However, recent research reveals that there is one serious disease that cannot be blamed on being obese.

High index” is a term used to refer to any of a number of plastic lens materials that can do the same job as the more common CR-39 plastic material used for the majority of clear prescription lenses, only they are lighter and thinner.

Middle-aged individuals first start wearing reading glasses when the age-related condition (“presbyopia”) that leads to their increasing inability to read printed material worsens. Consequently, they may blame their glasses for their declining condition.